Ethnobotanical Survey on Sarcocephalus latifolius Smith and Antioxidant Activity of its Roots Extracts

Background and Objective: Nowadays, research on medicinal plants has intensified due to the diverse therapeutic potential of medicinal plants. The aim of this work is not only to go through the ethnobotanical knowledge of Sarcocephalus latifolius in Southern Benin but also to evaluate the antioxidant potential and toxicity of S. latifolius root extracts. Materials and Methods: Thus, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out in 06 markets located in Southern Benin. The antioxidant activity of S. latifolius root extracts was performed using the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay. To end, toxicity was performed on Artemia salina larvae following the dilution method. Results: The antioxidant activity revealed that the aqueous extract with IC50 of 0.299 mg mL‾¹ has better antioxidant activity than the ethanolic extract (LC50 = 0.37 mg mL‾¹). Larval toxicity shows that aqueous extract (LC50 = 0.528 mg mL‾¹) and ethanolic extract (LC50 = 3.62 mg mL‾¹) show no toxicity. Conclusion: The data of this study indicate that the extracts of S. latifolius present antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and do not present toxicity. This may justify its traditional use in the treatment of microbial infections.